Perspectives
by petitestars
Summary: Jack has never known Carter to not be interested in alien tech...


***

Jack leant against the door frame to Carter's lab and frowned at the sight of her sitting hunched over at her desk, eyes glued to her laptop's screen.

"Twenty four hours," Jack interrupted her quiet musings.

"What?" Carter jumped and her eyes flicked to his in confusion.

"You said twenty four hours for the write-up for the hand devices," Jack stepped further into Carter's lab and motioned towards the closed box sitting on her lab bench, "It was twenty four plus five hours ago Carter."

"Yes sir," he watched, half amused, half concerned, as Carter stumbled over her words, "Sorry sir, I haven't been able to completely examine the devices yet."

"Oh?" Jack couldn't remember Carter ever missing a deadline before. Especially not when it was related to technology. Alien tech, no less, that they had never been able to study before, "I would have thought you would have ripped 'em down and adapted them to Earth tech already, Carter."

"I'll get to it right away, sir," Carter nodded at him, a pasted smile on her face, "I'll have the prelim report for you by the end of the day." She waited, and Jack realised she was expecting him to leave her alone to work.

But something still bugged Jack. The way her shoulders were tensely set, her fingers' white knuckled grip on the pen in her hand and the undeniable look in her eyes that just screamed _something was not right with Carter. _

Instead of doing the expected and leaving her be, Jack walked with confident ease into the room, ignoring the flinch it elicited from Carter.

"You sure everything is fine, Carter?" Jack pressed, keeping his voice light, "I've never known you to not be able to keep your hands from tech before."

Sam opened her mouth in what Jack expected to be an immediate denial. But then, something seemed to burst her defiant walls, her body seemed to deflate somewhat and she answered, "I… the devices, they make me feel-" Sam paused, and Jack watched as she struggled to describe the feeling, "Strange." Sam looked almost sheepish at the lack of detail.

"Strange?" Jack frowned, "Strange how?"

"I…" Carter looked down at the untouched box, as if she could see the hand device within its closed lid, "It's like I'm drawn to them, like some part of me wants to use them."

"The Jolinar part of you," Jack pointed out.

"Yeah," Sam looked distracted for a moment, "But…" she trailed off, "Never mind sir. It's nothing, I'll have the report to you ASAP."

"Nah uh," Jack shook his head, "If I've learned anything over the past year, Carter, it's that you're not capable of having nothing in your head."

Sam gave him an almost bemused look, then sighed and stared down at the devices.

"Jolinar's memories," Sam said softly, "I keep seeing flashes of memory ever since we came across these devices."

Jack flinched inwardly, he knew she had the memories, but hearing her say it was disconcerting, "You okay with that?" he asked, not knowing how anyone could be okay with having a snake's memories in their head.

"It's okay most of the time," Sam shrugged, "But the devices seem to trigger them; they seem stronger or… something. The feeling to use the devices feels both wrong and so right at the same time."

"What do you want to do?" Jack asked.

"It doesn't feel like what I want," Sam said confused, "It's what Jolinar wants."

"She doesn't control you, Carter," Jack said firmly, "They're just memories."

Sam nodded, but she still looked disconcerted, "I know but it's…. confusing."

"I can get one of the other eggheads to take a look if you want to keep your distance from them, Carter." Jack suggested.

Sam placed an almost possessive hand over the box which contained the alien tech. The thought of handing them off to another scientist clearly at conflict with her desire not to have anything to do with them.

"I want to…" Sam frowned at the box.

Jack stepped forward and gently moved her hand from the top, he slid the lid off and they both stared down at the glinting devices inside. Jack took one look at the pained expression on Carter's face and used the word he almost always avoided when he was around Carter.

"So do you have any idea _how_ these things work, Carter?"

Sam's eyes stayed glued to the devices, "It must be linked through the power of thought, somehow."

"As much as the Goa'uld claim they can do magic, Carter," Jack, scoffed, "I hardly think that these things just require thought to kill someone, no pun intended."

Sam shook her head and her hand reached in to touch the cool, golden metal, "It requires a physical component, naquadah maybe, or the protein marker from a symbiote. Otherwise humans would be able to use them."

"So what," Jack shrugged in confusion, "It 'senses' the naquadah in you?"

"Maybe," Sam murmured. She picked the hand device up and frowned as she looked at the various attachments, her voice picking up speed and enthusiasm, "I don't see any difference in the metal at the fingers to that at the wrist. It looks to be more decorative in function, but maybe if I run it though the ABF scanner it might pick up a density difference in…"

Jack let the specific words wash over him as Carter became enthralled in the science and 'how does it work' aspect of the devices. A small smile crossed his face as he watched her handle the device without flinching, or having that horrible distressed look that had been in her eyes earlier. She was focused on the science, and if there was one thing that would take Carter's mind off the uncomfortable, it was science.

"I'll just leave you to it then," Jack raised his voice over her continued mutterings.

Sam looked up at him, and Jack couldn't suppress his smile at the brightness in her eyes, "Oh, sure, sir."

Jack waved a hand in reply, leaving through the open doorway, intending to head to Daniel's office and annoy the archaeologist until he agreed to join him for lunch.

"Sir?" Carter's voice called him back, and Jack popped his head round the doorway a curious expression on his face.

"Yes, Carter?"

Sam gave him a warm smile, "Thanks."

Jack grinned, "Think nothing of it, Carter." Then he disappeared back into the corridor.

***


End file.
